


Combat For Two

by VeggysTheBasket



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, Falling In Love, Fluff, Love Confessions, Minor Violence, hornet is angry and perpetually tired, lace is a clown, sharpe gets wrecked lmao, wish i was confident enough to name his companions! i wanna give them dialogue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:54:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26115274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeggysTheBasket/pseuds/VeggysTheBasket
Summary: Giant dumb-dumb-stinky-head Hornet is invited to an over complicated dinner date with Lace. Nobody ends up eating.
Relationships: Hornet/Lace (Hollow Knight)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34





	1. First Bonk

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shrimplovercat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shrimplovercat/gifts).



> inspired by lecattycat's short fic, comfort, and dedicated to her as a secret santa gift! in august! i hope you enjoy you screaming bug yearny mfer!
> 
> ~~skip to chapter 3 to get straight into the romance~~

_...And she was just like a great dark wing_   
_Within the wings of a storm..._

Hornet narrowly deflects the short blade of their attacker, breaking them wide open. Using her momentum, she launches herself and headbutts the assassin. A sickly crunch rings out in the arena as her assailant grasps his nose and yells "MFFFFFFFMPH MYYY NHOOSEE!" Sharpe falls to the ground and wriggles in pain next to his unconscious companions.Hornet had finished another bounty. The mess it made wasn't nearly worth the effort - _or the screaming for that matter_ \- but she could use a bit of stress relief. She kicks away the grounded assailant's blade and grabs him by his nose, dragging him behind her as he whines in an ascending crescendo of "ow ow ow OW OW **OW OW OW OWWW!** "

"Urgh, enough! I can scarcely collect my thoughts with your yapping." She barks out, lifting him closer to her face."RIGHT, RIGHT. SO SORRY, WHAT WAS I THINKING. I'LL CONSIDER PIPING DOWN WHEN YOU LET. GO. OF. ME!!!" Sharpe paws at Hornet's hands trying to break free. "...Alright." She shrugs and lets go, dropping him like a sack. He grasps for his face, then his nose; and snaps it back into place. He winces and muffles out "What...the hell is _WRONG_ with you?"

"You're in hardly any position to judge."  
"You're not better than me!" He points at Hornet, "We're both just honest warriors, doing dirty work fo- HURKGH" His train of thought is interrupted as his face is greeted by a slip of paper stuck on his nose. "Read it." Hornet says, Sharpe slides the violent piece of paper off and inspects it.

_"WANTED: THE DEEP DOCK MUGGER"_

His eyes widen, Hornet tilts her head and scoffs. "Friend of yours?"  
Sharpe looks down and deflated "You must really think poorly of me, huh?"  
Hornet squints her eyes and smirks, "Exceedingly. Now answer the question."  
He frowns and examines the slip again before saying, "No, I don't know the guy but I've seen enough of his work, a damn good thief. He's been on a spree for weeks, robbing merchants, caravans, old ruins, the works."

Hornet crosses her arms and says, "So I've heard, he's been a thorn in the side of The Caravan for far too long. With what they've done for me, the least I can do is take care of him." Hornet twirls her needle and points it towards Sharpe, he leans backwards with his hands up. "What can I say? I'm an honest warrior." Hornet says, Sharpe eyes his nail from across the ground and Hornet steps closer.

"Don't try it. You're going to tell me where I can find this 'mugger.'" Sharpe scoffs and shakes his head, "Hey, I said I HEARD of him. I told you I don't know this guy."  
"That doesn't bode well for you and your friends, then." She replies. The two exchange a tense stare that feels as if it lasts for minutes. Sharpe shifts his eyes around the room, and then sighs. "There's some hot-spots I've been told to avoid, I can mark them on your map and you can check them out."

Hornet thinks for a moment, a wild grub hunt isn't how she wanted to spend today, but a job is a job. "Hm, alright then." She lowers her needle and tosses one of her maps towards Sharpe, "Let's see where this scum is hiding."


	2. Second Pie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hornet gets pranked, sucks to be her.

_I thought I had met my match, yet she was singing_   
_And undoing,_   
_Undoing the laces._

  
A couple of haunted dens, a few close calls, and a bit of pocket change gained. Yet still no sign of that mugger, Hornet wondered if the intel Sharpe gave her was any good after all. If not, she could pay him a visit, she chuckled to herself and took one last look at   
her map. One last place - an abandoned travelers inn carved out of the hard outer shell of an unidentifiable bug. The swirls and layers of chitin have chipped and cracked from years of degradation, you can almost see right through them. Cavities where multiple eyes were once home to now hollowed out for a balcony view. Torn curtains colored maroon hung off of the edges, with smashed pottery and bodies littering the edges of the building. How homey. Hornet wasted no time and began her investigation of the premises.

The entrances were inaccessible - either boarded up or their doorways crumpled underneath the weight of the shell. There's no way she could get through any of them, the building itself looked totally abandoned; However on a perimeter check Hornet noticed a silhouette from one of the windows, the shredded curtains swung back and forth yet there was no breeze pushing them, how long had they been like that? " _Wait a second,_ " 

Hornet stops and starts slowly approaching the window, keeping her eyes locked on. Last time she checked, the curtains weren't black, and they didn't have a suspicious top-hat & mousta- " **YOU**!" Hornet yelled and as she ran The figure bolts out of view, Hornet doesn't bother to call out any further. It was hunting time and time and there was no escape! She ties thread to her arm and spikes her needle forward, using it as a grappling hook to scale the building and vault into the second floor room the figure inhabited, a rather dusty yet homey guest room. Hornet has slept in far more uncomfortable, this place wasn't too bad real- * _chk!_ * Ah hell, Hornet looks down, she had just triggered a trip wire placed where she landed. The walls rattle and a door slides opens to the right of her, revealing spikes firing towards her. She ducks down and watches the weapons fly over her and stick into the wall. Caught off guard, she steps back to regain her balance and hears another * _chk!_ * "Blast!" She yells, another wire. The sound of more spikes firing came from the opposite direction, without enough time to get out of the way she swings her needle forward and cuts the flying spikes out of the air. Now that was close, she almost got h- * _chk!_ * Hornet looks down, another wire, and another wire in front of her, and a wire behind her. All of them tightly knotted in every nook, cranny, & crevice like a Weaver's den. 

The **entire** room was a death-trap and she fell right into it. Feeling as though she was having a conniption, she yelled and spun her needle around with loose thread - screw it, she might as well deal with all of them now. Her weapon flies around her as spikes fire. She deflects projectile after projectile and triggers more to come her way, slowly working her way towards the exit. It was working, with her needle flying around and protecting her she could finally open the door and escape. She reaches for the door knob and swings it open. Standing out from behind the door was the cloaked figure wielding a comically large TikTik-Pie.

"What in gods-" before Hornet could react the figure _smashes_ it into her face and she flies backwards into the room, getting further pelted by the spikes - which harmlessly sticks to her body with a goopy substance on one end - until she's entirely covered in spikes like an infant Goam and incapacitated from their weight, with an albeit delicious tasting but sickly red meat-pie covering all over her face and in her mouth as she tried to spit it out. Hornet was completely unharmed but she would've greatly preferred death to this. The figure witnesses all of and they chuckle, turning to giggling, until the hatted villain was bursting at the seams in high-pitched laughing. In between wheezes for breath, the figure speaks in a very familiar elegant yet condescending tone. 

"Ohohoho....Oh my, its rather impolite to come barging into one's abode, you could've knocked! Then again, that's not quite your style is it, little spider?"

Hornet gasps, choking on the meat pie and hacking it up onto the ground. She wriggles onto her back and lifts her head up, her face grows flush and her eyes widen in confusion and shock.

"L-.. **LACE YOU**!-" She sputtered, Lace shot her arms up in the air and yelled " _Me!!_ "

"B-But, wh-what are you...how...why-" Hornet mouths in confusion, Lace puts a finger over her mouth and shushes.   
"Now, now, let's tone that down a bit. I've put a great deal into of effort these past weeks," Hornet shakes her head away from Lace and exclaims, "YOU WHAT? YOU MEAN YOU'RE...?" Lace continues on, "...and I'm sure even you'll appreciate it, tonight is going to just WONDERFUL darling!"

Lace spins towards the exit and tips her hat, " _Toodaloo!~_ " She waves and leaves out the door, disappearing into the dimly lit hall. "Hey!" Hornet yells and - poorly - attempts to give chase by wriggling " **GET BACK OVER HERE YOU, YOU,** YOU..." Before Hornet could think of anything hurtful, Lace was already gone. She sat there in contemplation for a moment, and face planted into the ground covered in meat pie. She was too tired for this...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wrow, i wonder what this villian has planned. how devious


	3. Third Embrace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the reason any of you clicked on this in the first place ;-;
> 
> featuring the stinky boys!

_Wait a minute baby,_   
_Stay with me awhile._   
_Said you'd give me light,_   
_But you never told me about the fire..._

Today went from tiring to exhausting and the last person Hornet wanted to see was Lace.  
The two have had their scuffles and alliances alike. She was an admirable adversary, a great ally, and quite a bit _"too much"_ for Hornet at times. Hornet respected Lace nevertheless, but couldn't figure out what she was doing here. Setting up shop in a remote location and stealing; Lace has done many things, but thievery seemed beneath her. Hornet contemplated for a while and shook her head, "No matter," she thought. She had a job and she intended to finish it.

Covered in spines, Hornet still had some room to move. With a bit of finesse she wriggles out her second set of arms and grasps around the floor until feeling a bundle of thread still attached to her needle. She pulls towards her until finally grasping the weapon, she leveraged the blunt side against her - and with a swing...

 _*THUKATHUKATHUKATHUKATHUKATHUKATHUKA_ *

She tears them apart leaving only the strange goop behind - shaking it off after gaining her bearings. With herself freed and her pride hurt, she was ready to look for Lace.

She entered the main hall from the guest room and the interior of the inn didn't look quite as derelict as the exterior. The floors swept clean, old framed paintings of rich bugs were adjusted, and the walls were lacquered and good as new. Dim, pink candles hung from fixtures through the building & illuminated Hornets' way. Faint music could be heard coming from the south - where the main foyer laid - Hornet followed the sound like a trail, tapping every surface she could feel with her weapon to check for traps. Nothing. She reaches the end and finds a carpeted spiral staircase leading to her left amongst all the vacant rooms. The first flood glows warm lantern-light, leading to the source of the music. Hornet begins her careful descent, she hears A soft harp-plucked melody with a female voice harmonizing along and carrying a gentle yet melancholic tune. The main foyer revealed itself as Hornet descended, rectangular cloth gathering tables filled with exotic & native Pharloomian treats, with a set of freshly brewed moss tea. A make-shift campfire inside a ditch in the wall acted as a fireplace, with the skulls of old creatures hanging above on the wall. Better yet was the center of the room which caught Hornet's eye: A still-disguised Lace plucking away on a harp, lost to the music, her soft voice harmonizes along in song. Hornet made it in time to hear the outro and found herself drawn towards the melody, she put her needle down, and listened.

_"My darling, my beloved, you're the poet in my heart._   
_Never change, and don't you ever stop._   
_For even when you're gone,_   
_No matter what for,_   
_When you build your house, call me back._   
_Call me...home."_

Lace sighs and opens her eyes noticing Hornet spectating intently, Lace thanks her with a warm smile. Upon realizing she was noticed, Hornet jolts up and fires her needle into a defensive position. Lace giggles, "Shall I continue?" Hornet disregards and asks, "What were you singing?"

"Oh just an old tune," Lace deflects, but her eyes look unfocused and still elsewhere. She continues, "When I was a but a nymph my mother would sing to me when she had to go - family matters, _murdering_ , the usual - yet she promised a swift return." Lace takes off the comically large hat & moustache - which skitters across the floor once put down - and starts pacing around the room, arms around her. Hornet's guard remains yet she listens intently as Lace continues, "No matter how long it took...or how scared I was; I could sing, and then? Well..." She hesitates, Hornet feels a twinge of saudade in Lace. "I knew she would come back and everything would be fine." She looks down at the floor and chuckles. She jested, but Hornet could feel her pain, it was all too familiar to her.   
"...You have my condolences." Hornet replied. Tension dripped from Lace's face and she smiled towards Hornet, "Oh darling, don't worry. Everyone has their own time to go; the song's sentimental to me now." Lace grabs a cup and carefully pours out a serving for herself, "Care for some?" 

"Su-" Hornet stops herself and takes a step back, she shakes her head. "...No, no enough of this." Hornet points her needle towards Lace, "What's going on here? You...You're the Deep Docks Mugger??" Lace looks confused in between her sip until a lantern goes off in her head. "Oh! That novel thing!" She giggles to herself and Hornet interjects, "Novel? Is this a game to you?" Her voices raises in anger, "You terrorized innocents and stole from them and...wait." Hornet frantically grabs the nearest piece of furniture - being a chair - and examines it, dirty, dusty, with a comfy yet tattered cushion. Something is carved into the leg, she reads it and her heart sinks as Lace howls in laughter.

 **"2GRINDLE2MACE** " Is hastily carved alongside a poor looking self-portrait of Grindle winking. That was him alright, he didn't even bother to _spell_ her name right. The realization shook Hornet, past connections in her brain were suddenly severed.

"Grindle...bu-but that means you bought it from..." She sputtered.  
Lace wipes the tears streaming down her face from bemusement, "Ohooh my!" She wheezes out, "I thought you'd have figured it out by now, dearie! My apologizes!" Hornet lets out a high-pitched and defeated "w-whuh?" 

Lace finally composes herself and clears her throat, "The truth is my little spider, The Deep Dock Mugger never existed!" She exclaims with stage-like gusto, Hornet's brain short-circuited as she unraveled it in her mind.

"The muggings?"

"Staged with Shakra, those were fun!"

"The stolen goods?"

"Certified Grindle."

"T-The raids on caravans? The sightings?? Sharpe told me-" She says before being cut off,"Darling," Lace huffed, "Its child's play to dress up and steal packaged snacks from sleep deprived guards, and even easier to scare them. Why, Sharpe HELPED me set those rumors up!" She smiled to herself. Hornet's eyes squint in anger, she swore to herself that she would kick Shakra's, Sharpe's, & Grindle's asses. She shook her head and exclaimed, "But why go through all this tricky & preparation, what's all of this worth and what does it have to DO with me?"

Lace gets a perplexed look on her face, "Isn't it obvious?" The two uncomfortably stare for a moment, Lace breaks the silence by saying "Oh...I suppose not." In a hurt tone of voice.  
"What? What's obvious? What's going on here!" Hornet interjects, Lace sighs, puts down the cup of tea, and undresses from the black cloak she wore, drawing her pin from the scabbard. The two circle the room like a pack of Vengeflies scouring a cadaver. Hornet scoffs, " _You're challenging me?_ Hmph, so much time wasted for an inevitable defeat." Lace chuckles "Perhaps. You're the strongest warrior I've had the pleasure of fighting." She diverts her attention from Hornet to her weapon, examining it in contemplation. She clenches her hand and with a swift twirl, throws it away from her. Relief spreads over her face, Hornet is taken aback and prepares herself for a trap.

"However," Lace chimes, " _You're also the finest woman I've ever met in my life_."   
Hornet's stomach once again fills with butterflies & discomfort, "Eh...E-Excuse me?"  
Lace looks away from Hornet covers her face with her hands, underneath she's as red as a beetle's shell blushing, "Oh dear. Well...I...I care about you, Hornet." She squeaks out, Hornet's eyes widen and a pain shoots her stomach as Lace continues, "I've been fighting for so many years, running for even longer, I forgot what for...or if I needed to anymore. I've been lost, but...seeing you press on with the odds stacked against you." Lace closes her eyes, "When we first met, I saw so much pain in you, I just wanted to give you a way out - but you kept going, and you still are, and..."   
Hornet shook, she couldn't believe what she was hearing - she wanted to bark against the platitudes, but she knew Lace meant it with every fiber of her being. Her arms swing down, no longer protecting herself. "I..." She sputters, Lace goes on and says "You inspired me to keep going, Hornet - you fought, but you showed me something I've never seen before." Lace smiled as she ruminated, "Kindness. Its silly, but I couldn't stop thinking about you, I was too scared to say anything but then I had an idea, if I could lead you here, if I could just a get moment alone, I could finally tell you..."   
"N-No wait..." Hornet stuttered as Lace came forward. She tightly gripped Hornet's hands and looked her in the eyes.

"Tell you that I LOVE you." A wave of fear, excitement, anger, and...sadness overcomes Hornet. She couldn't tear herself away from Lace's eyes, filled with concern and admiration. Hornet never knew, she couldn't have! She would have thought it as a joke, no one...could love her. Not again. Yet here they were, time frozen in each others' company. Hornet trembled until she could no longer hold her needle, making a unceremonious clang to the ground. She looks away from Lace to the ground and Lace looks shocked for a moment, but nods in resignation. "...Hornet, I understand. I shan't force you to do any-" Lace is interrupted and taken aback as Hornet lunges forward and hugs her tightly with all of her arms, her face buried into Lace's shoulder. Hornet sniffs, "How dare you." Tears well up in her eyes, " How dare you lead me here to just strike me down in such a _COWARDLY_ way. How **DARE** you underestimate me." Her voice wobbles as she sobs, "You want to fight dirty? Alright, I'll fight dirty." She looks Lace in the eyes and wipes away the tears.

"I love you." Says through gritted teeth and repeats herself, "I love you damn it!" Lace's eyes well up and shine with joy, returning a returns a cheeky smile and replying, "I love you, too."

More tears well up in Hornet's eyes as she fights the urge to cry again, "Oh yeah? I TRIPLE love you." She returns.

"I love you quadruple!" Lace giggles.

"Oh YEAH? WELL-" Lace's giddy could no longer be contained, she grasped Hornet by the face and leans forward, their lips meet together and Hornet's heart skips a beat, her adrenaline pumps. Her retort replaced with a muffled scream, she wanted to move back, she could've, but...she was fairly bested, and that was alright. Hornet red as a setting sun, knees shaking, leaned further in and wrapped her arms around Lace's soft body. Time froze yet again as the two of them embraced in the dimly lit foyer. Hornet was still pissed, but she was too tired to do anything about it. Right now, this was a good break...a very good break.

* * *

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!!" Sharpe cried out, clinging onto Shakra's robes and wiping his tears onto them. She recoils and starts shaking him off, yelling "ERUGH! YOU'RE GETTING SNOT ALL OVER ME, GET OFF YOU DISGUSTING CREATURE!" He unceremoniously flops into the ground and wallows, "What in the gods are you doing??" She barks, Sharpe looks up to her and sniffs, "I'm sorry, its just...they were talking and then they hugged and then she said "I love you." and then she said "No I love YOU more!" and then she said "No **YOU!** " and then they kissed and....oooh IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL, WUUHHH HUUHHHHH." He wails again into his hands, his small and large companions comfort him, patting his back and whispering "There, there." While offering him handkerchiefs. 

"Hmph," Shakra crosses her arms, "I'm just waiting for them to be done so I can finally eat, I didn't spend all that time cooking just to let it go to waste." She huffs, "I _swear_ if they had started throwing down and breaking tables I was going to break their SPINES." She balled up her hands into a fist, Sherma glared uncomfortably at Shakra and gestured for her to calm down. "Come on," He said, "They haven't done anything, plus we already have tons of food in the back, we could've just replaced it." Shakra looks offended and scoffs, "You wouldn't understand! A crafter like me takes pride in their work, I put my soul into that food, I'm not about to let it go to waste!"

Grindle happily munched on a slice of meat-pie, "This one likes the taste of your soul, I say we make more." 

Sherma peered into the window to see the foyer again. Him, Shakra, Sharpe, his companions, & Grindle were hiding outside to make sure they didn't end up _actually_ killing each other. Watching them embrace each other, laugh, cry, he smiled. "Alright everyone," He interjected, "They're doing just fine, let's come back later and give them some space." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wrow! that was rather fast.
> 
> this was my first time writing a proper fan fiction, it was pretty difficult but also a lot of fun and I learned a lot. hope it was enjoyable enough and too much of a bastardization for characters of a video game that hasn't come out yet :) thanks for reading! 
> 
> the lyrics used throughout the fanfic as headers, and the song lace sung, is Sara by Fleetwood Mac. 10/10 yearn song


End file.
